Doctorate of Education (EdD)

About the program

The Doctor of Education (EdD) program is a 90-quarter credit, post-master's interdepartmental degree offered by the SPU School of Education. The program serves school practitioners who are primarily interested in preparing for a variety of leadership positions in educational systems, including superintendent, district office, school counseling, and other areas.

In addition, the program also serves students interested in other related careers in education, including nonprofit and higher-education administration, and other education-related professions. It can be tailored to meet varied professional needs and interests. This degree is for active professionals interested in leadership positions in all fields and levels of education.

Course of study

Using the educational benefits of collaborative and cooperative learning combined with continued professional association, the program uses a cohort approach for core doctoral classes. Once admitted to the program, you proceed though these cohort courses as part of a group, following a defined schedule and sequence.

Because this is an interdepartmental degree, you will select courses and learning experiences, with the assistance of the director of doctoral studies, from a variety of areas and opportunities in the School of Education, or from other schools within Seattle Pacific University (subject to approval by the School of Education Doctoral Committee).

Areas of specialization

The specialization/elective component provides students with the opportunity to develop an area of expertise appropriate to professional and academic goals. Areas of specialization include the following:

Prerequisite coursework

Depending on an applicant's educational background, the following prerequisites may be required for the doctoral degree:

EDU 7300 Introduction to Educational Research and Statistics

EDU 6975 Interpreting and Applying Educational Research I

EDU 6976 Interpreting and Applying Educational Research II

EDU 6655 Human Development and Principles of Learning

EDU 6524 Curriculum Design

EDU 6526 Survey of Instructional Strategies

EDU 6613 Standards-Based Assessment

Leadership colloquium and comprehensive exams

After approximately one year of coursework, or 24 credits, you may register for EDU 7990 Leadership Colloquium. This requires you to write a scholarly paper and present the paper in a formal setting to the educational community.

Graduate faculty of the School of Education conduct an evaluation of the scholarship and Colloquium. The Leadership Colloquium must be taken before you can take the comprehensive exams.

Upon completion of all courses, you must pass two written comprehensive examinations. These examinations will cover the foundations and research components of the core course requirements. Successful completion of the comprehensive examination advances you to doctoral candidacy.

Dissertation

Under the direction of a faculty dissertation advisor and committee, you will complete a dissertation project during the final phase of the degree program. The dissertation is designed to integrate theories and tools learned throughout the program, and should demonstrate your mastery of concepts and methods. As a final demonstration of scholarly competence, you will prepare a written dissertation report and conduct an oral presentation/defense.

The dissertation requirement may be demonstrated by a study of an educational problem such as curriculum evaluation, development and evaluation of administrative models, field testing of a diagnostic tool or curricular material, or development and evaluation of educator training models. It may also take the traditional form of a research study. You are encouraged to take additional research courses linked to specific dissertation methods and design.

You will choose problems of practice originating from external practitioners and policymakers, generated through the suggestion and review of faculty members. External practitioners may include school districts, educational service districts (ESDs), universities, state agencies, and research groups.

Admission requirements

Official transcripts documenting excellent undergraduate and graduate GPAs from an accredited institution where an academic degree was conferred. Include post-master’s degree graduate coursework.

If your degree is not from a U.S. college or university, please arrange for your transcript to be evaluated by an accredited transcript evaluation company such as FIS or WES. Have the report forwarded directly to Graduate Admissions.

Personal statement (no more than 500 words) expressing your professional plans, goals, and focus of study, as well as a rationale for pursuing an EdD.

GRE (Graduate Record Exam) or MAT (Miller Analogies Test) scores taken within five years of application.

Four recent letters of recommendation, including two academic and two professional recommendations.

Résumé documenting a minimum of three years of successful experience at the P–12 level or other similar educational setting.

Following the submission of all of these items, your file will be reviewed by the core graduate faculty. You will be contacted regarding the status of your application, and to schedule an interview, within approximately two weeks.

All correspondence regarding the interview process will be carried out by email using the address you provide in the application. Please set your email filters accordingly.

Enrollment policy

You must be continuously enrolled (all four terms) in required SPU courses to earn the doctoral degree or until you officially withdrawn from the program. Exceptions to continuous enrollment must be approved by the director of doctoral studies. (SPU’s Student Academic Services requires continuous enrollment to remain admitted in a doctoral program. After four quarters of non-enrollment, students will be placed in “inactive status” and will need to reapply for admission.)

During dissertation work, you must enroll in dissertation credits every quarter until the degree is completed.

You may be granted a leave of absence for up to four quarters by the school dean or director of doctoral studies. Once the leave of absence has expired, you will either enroll in doctoral coursework or be dropped from the program.

If you decide to no longer pursue a doctoral degree, you may officially withdraw from the program and SPU by notifying the director of doctoral studies and the graduate programs manager.

Grade point average

A minimum 3.2 overall GPA is required for graduation.

Degree completion

Students must complete all requirements for the doctoral degree within five years from the quarter the first post-admission course was taken. Students needing more than five years to complete the degree must file a time-extension petition with the director of doctoral studies.

Questions?

Admissions materials should be directed to Graduate Admissions. If you have questions about graduate education or certification programs: